Monday, October 14, 2013

Anime Review: Shingeki no Kyojin

SHINGEKI
NO KYOJIN: The lack of plot armour renders this show incredibly realistic

A
hundred years ago, giant humanoids called Titans have forced humanity to
retreat into a system of three walls. The humans have lived in peace inside
these walls, until a colossal titan suddenly appears and breaches the outermost
wall. This has forced the humans to retreat deeper into the wall system, and on
the process, Eren Jaeger witnesses his mother killed by the breaching titans.
Now, together with his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and friend Armin Arlert,
he enlists in the military and swears to kill all the titans, to avenge his
mother and to save humanity from total destruction.

The
first thing that captured my attention is the animation. The art style is crisp
and incredibly detailed. The characters are outlined with a thick black stroke,
separating them from the background. The style overall is very refreshing.

I’m
also very impressed on the writing of Shingeki no Kyojin. Yes, the first episode
is quite slow. It dumps information relevant for world building. But what I
like about these information is the fact that they are not just used to
establish the world.

They
have also set the tone of the show. They have successfully portrayed a sense of
immediate danger. But after this information dump, which covers practically the
first half of the first episode, the show is a rollercoaster ride. It has also
successfully triggered an emotional reaction right in the end of the first
episode, and that is really impressive.

This
rollercoaster ride is consistent up to the end of the first major arc, which is
about ten episodes or so. The story slows down again to make room for another
series of world building and character development. Then it dashes again for a
thrilling ride. That’s basically the pattern of the storytelling. It is very
rhythmic, and it delivers the things it has to deliver in its current rhythm.

What
makes the major arcs very thrilling is the fact that the characters don’t have
plot armour, meaning that they could actually die even though it would prove to
be inconvenient for the author. This is the very reason why the major arcs are
very compelling. The viewers just don’t have an idea who will survive or die,
and how the survivors will react to the situation brought upon by the deaths of
their comrades. This tends to result to shocking sequences, and it opens the
characters to development.

Speaking
of characters, Shingeki no Kyojin has a lot to offer. The primary characters,
Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlert, have very harmonic
personalities. They blend well together. The secondary characters, even though
they are not dissected enough, are not bland. They have their own unique
qualities, and sometimes they could even get to the point that the viewers will
gain favouritism.

This
favouritism is one of the reasons why the deaths of these characters become
even more shocking. I must say that the lack of plot armour and the creation of
interesting characters are a good combination.

Another
good thing about Shingeki no Kyojin is how it embeds music to its scenes. The
soundtracks are perfectly suited to the emotion they want to portray. The sense
of desperation is heightened when necessary. The drama is intensified when
necessary. The action is more hyped when necessary.

The
action sequences of Shingeki no Kyojin is top-notch. The scenes where the
characters use their manoeuvre gears are animated extremely well, and it is
surprisingly consistent all throughout the series.

3d manoeuvre gears

Overall,
Shingeki no Kyojin is one of those amazing, almost-perfect anime titles that
come out once in a while. With an interesting story, decent character development,
superb music and animation, it is one of those titles that will be
sensationalized.

But
does Shingeki no Kyojin deserve the hype it gets? It definitely does. But as
much as I like the series, I still couldn’t give it a perfect score. Like I
said earlier, there are certain parts that seem to slow down the plot
development. Aside from that, the story is not entirely finished, so a full
judgment can’t really be made regarding it. The only thing I could do now is to
wait for the next season, and once the whole story is already told, then a full
judgment could finally be made. But as far as this season goes, it is amazing. I
recommend this anime to those who love tragic stories. They’re in for a
rollercoaster ride!

About The Author

You can call me Arvin Saints, but that is not my real name. I use that name in all my legitimate social media accounts. It’s not that I don’t want to directly associate myself to the cyber world. The name is simply an inside joke among my compatriots.

8 comments:

Awesome review! I mean it! Shingeki no Kyojin was a pleasant surprise for me. I have never thought to see anime this thrilling and so good. Eager for a second season. I´ll link your blog on my own if that´s ok with you. Cheers

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Agreed, SNK was one great ride! Its intensity and suspense is one of its best attributes, along with the sense of dread. However, I also agree that it is not perfect. The pacing was off at times, and Eren is not the most interesting protagonist. Also, this is very much a first season to a longer series, which is not bad, but it did not have closure. Can' wait for the second though! Excellent review; I linked to it at the end of my review today.

On a side note, after SNK's massive success, I have noticed several anime this year with similar lack of plot armor and sense of dread, which is great to see. I enjoy a good light shounen, but the darker ones, if executed well, really standout.

SNK is definitely one of those standouts that come once in a while, similar how SAO has been hyped and PMMM in the year before that. I'm looking forward to its next season, and I hope the quality doesn't diminish just so the author could cater to popular demand (like how Naruto and other popular titles tend to downslide in quality because they try to stretch and stretch the story because of demand, or something like that). Thanks for the link!